First Love or Last Romance?
by articulista
Summary: Following the lives of two young women as they go through the tests and trials of life, friendship and love. Mostly ExB and AxJ. Please Read and Review! Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is my very first fan fiction!!! I'm delighted to have found something that I want to write about, so please read and review!!!**

**Plot: Following the lives of two young women as they go through the tests and trials of life, friendship and love. **

**First Love or Last Romance**

Chapter One

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I just got off the plane and landed in Texas. It is a complete culture shock; definitely not something that I am used to. I can already feel myself beginning to sweat. It's a bright sunny day, that's for sure. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but here I am. I grew up in Forks, Washington. A city with almost 3,000 people. It's funny when I think about it now. I wanted to get away from all the gloom that swept over that town.

I am now eighteen years old and ready to take on life's adventures, whatever they may be. I got accepted to the University of Texas and figured why not head out to someplace new? Especially someplace hot and sunny and without rain and darkness.

Right now I am getting driven all by myself to the university in a cab. I've never felt so alone. My parents wanted to fly with me and help me get settled at the university, but I politely declined. I want to feel my independence on my own. I want to escape all that I have left behind. Don't get me wrong, I do love my parents, and I don't want to forget them, I just want to feel independent for once in my life.

The cab pulled up to the university and instantly I felt scared. Oh well. Too late to go back now. This is what I wanted so I'm going to have to go through with it. The cab driver helped bring my stuff out and I persuaded him to help bring them into my dorm with a large tip. Once at the dorm I slid the key in and brought all the stuff inside. The cab driver helped bring in my luggage and I thanked him with a generous tip.

I knew that I was going to have a roommate. Her name was supposed to be Alice Cullen. I was excited to meet her since I knew nobody yet. This was one of the advantages to coming here: I would get to start over and meet new people, hopefully lifelong friends. I wonder what Alice is like and whether we will get along at all. Hopefully, she isn't stupid or air headed. I could definitely not take that. I wonder if she'll like me at all.

I started unpacking all the stuff that I had brought from Forks. It wasn't much because I will no longer be dressing for a rainy day. I will definitely need to go shopping soon, or I will run out of clothes. I started to think about what kind of clothes I would like to wear. I could totally dress however I wanted now. I no longer had to wear that dreadful Catholic uniform from high school. I was so deep in thought about my new style, that I barely heard the key in the door.

I looked over at the door and in popped a small black-haired girl. She came up to me and held out her hand for me to shake.

"Hey, I'm Alice Cullen", she said, throwing a big smile at me. She was really short, with pale white skin and short black hair. She had a nice sense of style, sort of beachy and California-looking.

I shook her hand and said shyly, "I'm Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella".

She smiled at me and continued to bring her stuff inside. We quietly finished packing our stuff away. I noticed that she did not have a lot of stuff with her as well. Maybe she came from somewhere else too. After we both finished we sat on out beds. I was really tired of all the silence and of this dorm so I decided to speak first.

"So...ummm do you want to go somewhere else to hang out?" I asked nervousely. I wasn't sure if she knew anyone else here or wouldn't want to be my friend or something like that.

"Sure...I thought you would never say something," she laughed, "I saw this nice cafe type place we could go to. We could have a smoothie or something". She smiled an encouraging smile and we left our little, quiet domain, to head out into the noisy hallway.

"So this should be an interesting year. I just moved here from California and I'm scared shitless. It's the first time I've ever been on my own", she said this all nervously. It was then that I wondered that maybe she was just as nervous of being accepted as I was. She shouldn't be nervous though, she was beautiful and anybody would want to be her friend. Hopefully the same could be said for me.

"Well, I guess we are in sorta the same situation here. I just moved from Washington all the to Texas. That's like across the country." It made me sad to think about how alone I was.

"No way" she said surprised. We continued walking until I saw this little cafe. We entered and sat down in a little booth. Someone came to serve the drinks, which surprised me because I had expected us to have to order them upfront. I did not expect any service from a table.

"Yeah, it's really rainy there, so I thought it would be a nice change to come down here and experience sunlight. Maybe even get a tan", I said. I was beginning to wonder if I would seem boring to her, but she was smiling and looked happy. Definitely not bored.

"That's cool. So let's talk about ourselves. I'll tell you all about me and you'll do the same. Do you want me to start?" she asked. She seemed really genuinely interested to get to know me.

"Yea, if you don't mind starting." I didn't want to seem pushy or anything.

She smiled and began, "Well, I was born in New York City and I lived there until I was about five years old. Then my family moved to California. I grew up there and it is my home. I lived in Santa Monica. My favorite thing to do is go shopping. I love to shop; my parents think I'm totally crazy." We laughed at that and I felt like I was beginning to really like Alice. She continued again, "Ummm...that's actually what I'm here for".

I must have looked confused because she laughed and clarified, "No not shopping, but I'm going to be studying design at the university silly."

I laughed with her. She was so friendly, I could see us becoming friends quite easily. "So tell me about your family..." I suggested.

Again, she began to talk about herself. "Well, my father is a doctor in California. He works at this hospital in the psychiatric ward, but he can do so much other things too. My mother is an interior designer. She loves to decorate and remodel houses. I probably get all my artistic genes from her."

"No siblings?" I asked.

"Oh yes....of course. I have two older brothers. One of them goes to the university. Emmett, the oldest, is twenty-three years old. He just finished up his degree at NYC this year. And then there's Edward. He is just one year older than me, and he's the one that goes here. You'll probably see him around, he's on the football team." She was glowing while talking about her family. I could see that she loved them all very much. "So now it's your turn unless you have anymore questions?"

I pondered that. I did wonder about some other things, but decided that we had a whole year to talk. "No questions yet" I smiled and continued. "I was born in Forks, Washington. My parents are Renee and Charlie Swan. My mother is an artist and my dad is the Police Chief of Forks", I laughed at that. "I like to read and cook."

Alice laughed, "At least one of us can cook".

"I had to learn because my mom and dad suck at it. Especially my mother". I laughed remembering all my mother's silly concoctions that she deemed okay for dinner.

"So do you have any siblings? And what about what your going to be studying here?" Alice asked.

"I'm a psychology major, with a minor in English Literature. No, I'm an only child, my parents never got around to making children I guess." I laughed as I said this. It must have sounded funny. I looked over at Alice and she was also laughing too. Once we finished Alice continued on with her little interrogation.

"So...any boyfriends?" she wiggled her eyebrows as she said this.

"Well, I did have one boyfriend in high school. His name was Mike and we went out for a while, but we broke up just before I left. It just wouldn't work out, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. You'll meet someone new here though. I'm sure of it". Alice was a really nice person and I realized that I was really lucky to have such a good roommate.

"We should get back though". It was getting late and I wanted to go to bed early.

"Yea lets head back". We both got up and left the booth. As we walked back to our dorm, we saw signs telling us that tomorrow there would be football tryouts for the varsity team.

"Do you want to go to that?" I asked Alice.

Alice's eyes lit up, "Yeah...let's go. We could totally check out if this school has got any hot guys. Even if there are none, my brother's on the team. You could meet him tomorrow."

"Well that's a plan then", I said. We got into our dorm and went into our beds. But we didn't go straight to sleep. We chattered for a bit about ourselves and what we expect to happen tomorrow. We were both excited.

I was happy that I have an actual friend here. I'm not usually that good with people, but Alice seemed to really like me alot. Day one was over and it was not dreadful at all. I yawned and turned in my bed.

"Goodnight Alice," I said sleepily.

Alice yawned and murmured, "Night Bella".

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I woke up bright and early. I realized that I wasn't in my own bed. Then it sank in. I was at university. Then I remembered Alice and I shot up quickly in my bed.

Alice was in the bathroom with the door open. She was doing her hair. Once she realized I was awake she said, "Morning". I got out of bed and went to look for clothes. I pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt and waited for Alice to be done in the bathroom.

When she came out of the bathroom, I was thoroughly shocked. She was dressed in a colorful, flowing dress with sandals on. He hair was done really neatly. I felt totally shabby next to her. She looked me over and smiled.

"Bella. Are you seriously going to wear that to this football meeting thing?" She looked stunned.

"Uhhh....should I not?" I laughed. Why would I feel the need to be dressing up? "Were just going to be going to football tryouts."

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "We have to make a good first impression, now get up and put something nice on". She looked at me expectantly. I decided I might as well put something nice on, but I didn't have anything nice to wear. When I brought this to Alice's attention, she pulled out one of her own dresses and shoved it in my hands.

When I put it on, it fell to my mid-thigh. It was a nice deep blue color and it also flowed like Alice's own dress. Alice looked me over and then brought over flats. Thankfully she didnt' pull out heels. We might have had our first best friend argument.

"Now that looks more appropriate for a first impression type meeting". Alice said looking smug at the thought of her fashion sense.

"Well let's get out of here then" I said. I was a little bit anxious to meet new people, but of course I was interested in seeing boys as well. I mean what girl wouldn't be in a new city. When we arrived at the football field, we went to sit on the bleachers. There were some other people there as well, watching the tryouts.

I looked over at the field, where a lot of the boys were. I was thoroughly looking at each boy until I saw him. Alice was blibbering away about something or another, but i continued to look at him. He was just coming onto the field, where everyone else was. He was wearing a shorts and a team t-shirt, but I couldn't see the back of it to get his name. He was tall and lean, with untidy bronze hair. He had really pale skin, but this only made him look better. He was very....attractive. Oh forget it, he was totally the most delicious thing on that field. I turned to point this out at Alice, but she was already looking at him too, with a little smile on her face.

"Bella, do you see that boy over there?" she asked.

How could I miss him? He was beautiful. Everything about him. His hair, his body, his stunning face, even the way he moved. "Yeah, what about him?" I hope she didn't like him or something. Whereas I was totally plain, Alice was not. She could get this guy if she wanted him and I doubt that I would have the courage to.

"That's my brother Edward" she said. "He's the quarterback for the team".

I was totally shocked. This was her _brother_. Well, I guess it makes sense, they were both beautiful, but they looked nothing alike. At least she couldn't like him. I kept on looking at him. At least I had a reason to now. "Oh, he's very....nice looking". What an understatement.

Alice raised her eyebrow at me and laughed. "I guess so...I mean his is my brother afterall." She continued looking around. Probably for some eye candy. I looked at her brother some more. I was staring at his long, glorious body, when I heard Alice gasp. I looked over at her and found her staring at some boy. He was tall and blond. I watched her ogle him some more, until I turned back to stare at her beautiful brother. I'm not sure whether she noticed my attraction before, but I'm glad she found someone to stare at.

We left after a while. Alice had become quiet, and I was beginning to guess that she was thinking about this boy on the field. I let my mind wonder back to her perfect brother. He was breathtaking. If he was that good looking from afar, I could just imagine what he looked like upclose.

Alice broke the silence when she said, "So...we are totally going to be watching a lot of football this season aren't we?" She looked at me curoisly and I began to wonder how much of my ogling she did see.

"Well, I guess so. You seem pretty taken with whoever it was you were looking at", I laughed nervously. Surely, she did not notice my desire of her brother.

"Oh my gosh, did you see that guy, he was so my type. Like W-O-W." she looked over at me again, smiling. "Did you see anyone you like there? I didn't really notice anything but that guy. I'm going to have to corner him someday."

I was relieved. She can't know that I was checking out her brother. I'm supposed to be her friend. "Yes, but nothing I would act on".

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After the weekend

I was in rush getting ready for my first day of class. I decided to go with a casual look. Jeans and a t-shirt. Although Alice would scold me for not dressing nice, I wanted to feel comfortable.

When I got out of the bathroom, Alice eyed my outfit, but didn't say anything. I quickly learned that Alice was a fashionista. I'm guessing her not having any outbursts was due to her trying to be really nice. She was a really great friend. We walked out of our rooms and turned to go to our respective classes. We had found out where all our classes would be so that we would not get lost. I turned to say bye.

"Bye Ali" I said throwing a quick glance back at her, "Good luck!"

"You too, see ya soon" she sighed and was off.

I walked slowly to my class. I didn't want to get there early, but I didn't want to get there too late. When I walked in I looked up to the front of the lecture hall. The professor was already there, along with a handful of students. I looked around trying to find someone familiar or nice to sit with.

My eyes stopped on the boy Alice was staring at the football tryouts. I had to admit, he was pretty good looking. Of course he didn't have anything on Alice's god-like brother Edward. I went to go sit beside him because he was alone.

"Hey I'm Bella Swan," I said sitting down beside him before he could object. He didn't though. He seemed friendly enough.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock", he said, sticking out his hand for me to take. He smiled and winked at me. He had such a beautiful face that I was immediately drawn in.

We started talking a little bit about ourselves. He said he was born and raised in Texas and his dream was to be a lawyer. I liked him a lot, but it was purely a friendly kind of relationship. He laughed and joked with me like a friend, so I was surprised when by the end of class he asked me on a date.

"So on Friday night, the football team is having a small party, would you like to join me as my date?" he said this all very in a very convincing manner. I was shocked but I would not embarrass him by declining. In the back of my mind, I thought of Alice's happy face thinking about this stranger. I pushed that thought away. She shouldn't care at all; it's not like she even knows him.

"Ummm....sure. Why not?" I shrugged. He looked pleased. We exchanged information and then left.

When I got back to the dorm I told Alice about psychology and this strange boy. The excitement in her eyes died when I mentioned Jasper Whitlock.

"He asked you what?" she demanded, her eyes frantically looking at anywhere but my face.

"Chill, he just asked me to go to some party with him." I wonder why she was looking like this. He was just a boy.

"I can't believe this. Everyone is going to be at that party and you get to go with him. And besides, thats Edward's best friend", she looked down dejected.

Uh oh. This was Edward's best friend. This must mean that she knew about him before and had seem him prior to what I deemed as her first sighting of him. Maybe she liked him before and he never payed attention her her. "Oh, then why was he in my psych class?"

"He only came to university this year, he took a year off, when Edward came to University they met somehow and they became friends. He came over to our house for this summer with Edward. I'm such a fool", she looked down in embarrassment.

"Your not a fool, what do you mean?" I looked at her. This will not end good.

"Well, I kinda liked him..." she paused, and looked at me, "but i guess he likes you, I mean it doesn't matter anyway...you can go with him to this thing. I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be telling you what to do". She looked so distraught.

"It's okay, I'll just cancel, I don't have to go at all". It's not like I really liked him anyway. I mean he was a nice guy, but not really my type.

"No, No, NO!. You should go. You'll never know if he was the one for you unless you go and be with him. It's okay, don't worry about me. Edward will be there anyway, so even if you didn't like him, you could always go chat him up. I saw you looking at him the other day". She smiled slightly, looking over at me with curiosity.

I blushed scarlet and looked away, "I'll go, but not unless you come with me. If this Jasper wants me he'll have to take you with me too. It's not like an official thing anyway. It's not like we're dating."

I distinctly heard her mutter something similar to "not dating yet".


	2. Chapter 2: The Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. **

**This chapter may seem confusing to you. I know I said this will be an ExB and AxJ story, but I'm not too sure. I have two possible futures ahead and at this point I'm just choosing which one I want to go with. **

**Hopefully, you enjoy this chapter. And I hate asking, but please review. It helps me to know what I'm doing right and wrong and your feedback really means a lot to me. **

**Thanks!!! Enjoy!**

Chapter Two

The rest of the week went by pretty quickly. Alice and I attended all of our classes and by the end of the week we were exhausted. Luckily, Friday night was the night of the party that Jasper Whitlock invited me too. Lord knows, Alice and I do need to get out.

So, on Friday, the day of the uber-cool party, we found ourselves getting ready to impress. Alice was wearing a strapless, silver dress that clung to her every curve. She looked awesome in it of course! Not really my kind of thing, but if the shoe fits...I on the other hand was going for a more rocker-chick kind of look. Alice insisted that I could really play it up by wearing the right make-up and have the right accessories. Duh! So I was wearing black skinny jeans, with a a navy blue t-shirt and leather jacket. Of course, I also had black boots to pull over my jeans. Alice had done my make-up; tonight's choice was the smoky eye and nude lip.

I really am getting into this whole fashion thing. Alice has definitely gotten to me over the last week. I kinda liked it I guess; but I would never admit that to Alice. She would flip out and then take my on shopping trips all over the place.

"So...when is Jasper gonna come and get you?" Alice said, bringing me out of my thoughts. Alice had repeatedly refused to come to the party with me and Jasper. She was still going to go, but didn't want to be the third wheel. Of course, I knew this was a lie. Ever since I met Alice she was outgoing; she would never be uncomfortable as third wheel. I had a feeling she just did not want to see me and Jasper together. It wasn't even a real date. Either that, or she was looking out for me by letting me meet "the one".

"He should be here any minute now. Listen, Al. Are you sure you don't want Jasper to just drive you? I mean it's not a problem, were just friends." I didn't really want to be alone with Jasper. I mean, he was a normal person...well not normal...maybe...extremely attractive. However, he was best friends with a guy that I swore my allegiance to the minute I saw him. Well, not really. But you know what I mean. He was best friends with the guy that I secretly think is the hottest guy on Earth. Edward. Probably has a girlfriend though.

"Don't worry about me!" she laughed. She shook her head. "I'm going to go with this other guy that I met in class. His name is Laurent Devereaux. He's no Jasper, but he is pretty fine." She smiled brightly, but I could still see strain in her eyes.

Maybe I could try to fix up her and Jasper. I mean she clearly had a crush on him. And he would be absolutely crazy not to like her. This will be a fun date/non-date. I could start of by saying "Hey Jasper, I know you asked me to come to this party with you, but do you fancy my best friend Alice? She has this, like, huge crush on you!" Perfect way to start off the date. Ha Ha. Not funny.

"Well, alright, then". Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Oh my god, he's here. I'll get it". And I ran to the door. When I opened the door it was Jasper indeed. He was much taller than I remembered; almost a foot taller than me, imagine Alice...Anyways, he looked great. His blond hair wavy and his blue eyes sparkling. He was wearing the classic t-shirt and jeans. Looked good on him though...kind a rugged and handsome and sexy...and...

"Bella". Jasper greeted, which immediately made me aware of my ogling. Don't stare. Don't stutter. Just talk normally. Act normally. He's just a boy. Come on, already; say something. He's staring at you stare at him. Just TALK. Say anything. Hi would be nice. He's so dreamy...

"Are you okay?" he questioned. He looked puzzled. You made him think your fucking crazy. Great.

I finally decided to open my big mouth. "You look very sexy".

Oh my god!

Come on, Bella. You look very sexy. No hi. No how are you...what's going on? I am crazy! What am I doing? My thoughts were spiralling out of control, but at the moment none of that mattered, because Jasper was smiling. A shocked yet amused yet happy smile.

Suddenly, I was smiling and giggling like an idiot. Blushing like mad, too.

"You look very sexy too" he said in a deep voice, while looking down, his eyes lingering on my midriff. He looked turned on. I think. How was I supposed to know?

He looked up at me, and smiled again. "Ready to go?"

"Uh, yea...let's blow this pop stand" I said. He held out his arm for me, but before I could hook my arm in, I heard a cough. Oh right. Alice. I turned around, pulling Jasper in the doorway.

"Jasper, this is my roommate and best friend Alice Cullen" I said, trying to appear as if I didn't know that they knew each other. Probably wasn't working though. Oh well...it was worth a shot.

Jasper looked at Alice and then back at me. He smiled politely at her and then said, "I already know her. She's my best friend's baby sister".

I wasn't sure if him calling her his "best friend's baby sister" sat too well with Alice. She didn't look to happy about it. But she smiled and said, "Hi". She then turned back to fixing her hair. I felt terrible. Here I am going to a party with the guy that she secretly had a crush on. Date or no date, I was a terrible friend. But there was nothing I could do about it now.

"Well, were gonna get going now, Al. I'll see you at the party?" I questioned. Who knew if she would want to come now. She looked so discouraged.

She turned back to me, with a tight smile. "Yea, see you then".

And then we were gone. Jasper led me out the door and down the staircase and straight onto a motorcycle. "You have a motorcycle?"

He grinned, "Yep, here let me help you on". He held his hand out to help me up. Then he came on and drove at top speed to where ever this party was. I would have asked, only I don't think he would have heard me at all. The wind was blowing in my hair. Ughh. Once we get off this my hair is going to be the biggest mess ever.

Soon, he was slowing down in front of a house with bright lights on all around. I wonder whose house this was. He got off and held his hand out for me again. At least he was a gentleman.

"This is my buddy, Edward's house. We usually hold all the parties here" he explained while we walked up to the front door. It was a pretty nice house for some college student. I wonder why Alice just doesn't stay here instead of a dorm. If her parents lived in the town...Where was Alice from again? I thought she said California.

"I thought the Cullens' were from California?" I asked.

"Oh, they are. But they still own this house down here". Once, we entered, every eye was on us. We walked through the crowds, where people shouted things at Jasper. Some people were already drunk, others sitting and chatting with friends. I really wish Alice had come with us; I was so confused and I knew nobody here. Music was blaring and I could barely here anything.

Jasper steered us right into the kitchen, where there were a couple of people hanging out. "Let me introduce you to a friend of mine". He walked up to a group and punched one guy in the back. When he turned around, my breath caught. It was Edward Cullen. Dammit! I forgot he would be here.

Jasper smiled, "Hey Edward, this is Bella Swan, and Bella, this is my good friend Edward Cullen". I looked up at Edward. I wonder what my face looked like to him. He looked nothing like his sister. He was tall and thin, yet muscular. He had reddish-brown hair; almost like bronze. The only similarity I saw between them, were their pale skin. I held out my hand for him to shake and said, "Hi". He shook my hand and turned back to Jasper. They started talking about something or other. Who knows? Maybe football or whatever it is that they play. I can't even remember. All I could do was stare at them. They were both extremely good looking. Jasper was very polite; Edward on the other hand was not. He can't even say hi to me. That's rude.

Jasper was completely ignoring me, but that's okay because this is his best friend after all. Anyways, he didn't forget me, because he had grabbed my hand, and was now holding it. I must be glowing or something, because he get looking my way to catch my eye. I was just about to tell Jasper that I was going to get something to drink when I heard someone call my name.

"BELLA".

I looked in the direction it came from, and sure enough there was Alice waving at me to come and join her. I held up my hand to show her I was coming, then turned back to the boys.

"Well, it was great talking to you Edward. Jazz, I'll see you in a minute, Alice just came". Jasper nodded, but Edward looked to Alice and then back at me.

"You know my sister?" he looked at me cautiously. He was so beautiful. All I could do was just stare at him. I looked right into his eyes. His bright green eyes. Why am I looking at him?

Oh yea, he's talking to you doofus. "Uhhh....yes, I know her. She's my roommate." I smiled, but only because I didn't know what else to do. He didn't deserve that smile. He can't even say hi, for god's sake.

"Oh! Your Bella!" he exclaimed. He looked me up and down. He was grinning, like an idiot. He was so checking me out. Well, isn't this nice? The boy who can't say hi to me, decides I am worth talking to after one look at me. I'm not even pretty. Who cares anyway? Alice is waiting.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go talk to Alice", I looked at Jasper and mouthed "brb". He let go of my hand and gave me another grin. I crossed the room and finally saw Alice.

She looked confused. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"Oh I was just explaining to your brother how I knew you. Did you tell him about me or something?" I demanded. Why would she tell him about me? What would she even say? What would he say? Ughh...why do I care so much?

Alice looked guilty. She signed, then said, "Well, were really close, I tell him a lot of things".

Just great. This is fan-frickin-tastic. She probably told her brother how I was staring at him at the football thingy. Now he probably thinks I'm obsessed with him or something. He must think that I somehow got Jasper to bring me here, so that I could get closer to him.

"Well, that's...nice". What a crappy response. But what else was I supposed to say. "Anyways, are you going to introduce me?" There was a guy standing with Alice. I hadn't noticed until just then.

Alice shrieked, "Oh sorry! This is Laurent Devereaux, remember the guy I told you about today?" She didn't wait for an answer; she turned to Laurent and said, "This is my best friend Bella Swan".

"Hey Bella! I've heard so much about you already!" he smiled at me and then at Alice, who was looking on happily. "I'm gonna go get us something to drink".

I laughed. Thank god he was getting a drink; I think I would need it for tonight. He was quite nice looking. Tall and dark and handsome. That was the way to describe him. Alice seemed to like him, I guess. Once he was gone, I said, "So, what's with this guy? Do you like him or something?"

Alice laughed, "I guess! I mean he is nice, but not really my type. He's in a band though, so we could totally get free tickets. I just thought that he would be fun to hang out with tonight. Other than you of course."

"Of course! Well, Jasper just keeps talking to your brother. I think I should go steal him away soon." I didn't want to be mean to Alice, but I couldn't help but feel just the littlest bit smug that Jasper had asked me out.

Alice's smile tightened at that statement. "I'm sure you'll have lots of time to spend with him, but before you go back to him, we need to talk". With that, she grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs. We went into a bathroom, after kicking out a couple, who were probably gonna get it on in the tub.

"What do you want to talk about Alice? If it's about Jasper-"

She cut me off there. "It is about Jasper. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've been acting a little strange. It just that he was a crush, and it's always hard to see your crush with someone else. I know your not in a relationship, but still it's hard. I'm definitely going to behave better. I owe you more than this."

"Ali, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Like you said, we not even together. We're just friends, who came to a party together", I explained.

"Whatever ends up happening, I want you know that I'm okay with it." And she smiled. A true, genuine smile. But I knew her well. So maybe I've only known her for like a week, but I still knew Alice. Alice still liked Jasper, and she was only saying this for my sake. I'll just let her be, for now.

"So, how are you enjoying the party so far?" I asked. I know I wasn't. Buy maybe that had more to do with the fact that I wasn't doing much. I didn't even have a drink yet.

"Well, I didn't really talk to anyone yet. They're all older than us and they all talk about football", she grumbled and scrunched her nose up.

"Yea, I guess they do. I mean it is a football party after all", I laughed. I really didn't feel like being here anymore though. I mean it totally wasn't my scene. Ha ha. Me at a football party. Oh god. What have I gotten myself into? "Do you wanna just go see what everyone else is doing?"

Alice nodded and led us back down the stairs. She knew her way around the house, obviously, which reminded me of my earlier discussion with Jasper.

"Hey Al," I called after her, "If this is your house, how come you don't just live here?"

She turned to face me on the steps, "Oh, well, I really wanted to live in a dorm so that I could meet people and fit in I guess. Besides, I'd rather not live with my idiot brother". She laughed.

When we got down stairs, Laurent came up to Alice and me and started talking. We were having a good time. Laurent was pretty down to earth and cool and also very attractive if you liked the whole long dark hair with eyeliner look. He seemed to really like Alice, but I'm not to sure she noticed that; she was probably to into Jasper at the moment anyway. Speaking of Jasper, I could see him right now. He wasn't with Edward anymore though.

I wasn't drunk and I wasn't planning on getting drunk tonight. Alice was hammered, but I knew Laurent would take care of her, so I decided to go see what Jasper was up to.

"Hey, you!" I said to Jasper as I walked up to him. He turned to me and I expected him to be pissed too, but he wasn't. At least he didn't look it. Hmmm. Well, I guess he did have to drive me home, but he really didn't have to do that for me. Or maybe he didn't like to drink. Oh well, only time will tell. "So..."

"So..." he repeated. He was smiling down at me. "I really wished we had spent more time together tonight..." he trailed off.

I looked into his eyes. They were beautiful; blue and clear as the sky. "Well, we can now". I can't explain this attraction at all. He was such a beautiful person; I wonder what he saw in me. I wonder if he even liked me. For me, it wasn't love at first sight or anything like that. It was more like, like at first sight. I was instantly attracted to him and wanted to know more about him.

He led me over to a couch and we sat down together. He held his arm open for me and I let him cuddle me into his side. I loved the feeling of starting something new. And I knew this would be an adventure. He was new to me and I couldn't help the butterflies that came into my stomach when he looked at me.

"So tell me all about yourself" I prompted. He was looking at me again. He's very intense; it makes me feel special.

"Well, I was born and raised in Texas. My whole family was born here. My dad's name is Thomas and my mother's name is Jane. I have a little sister named Jordan." he smiled that breathtaking smile again. "Anything else you wanna know? All you have to do is ask."

"Well, ummm, what are you studying at the university and how did you meet Edward?" I was curious as to how he met Edward. It's not like they were in the same grade or something.

"My major is history. I like stuff like that. It has always been an interest of mine. My favorite is American history, obviously." He looked very happy to be talking about history, I noted. He went on. "And I know Edward through my father. Apparently my dad and his dad went to Harvard together and were friends, so when Edward came here my dad introduced us. We've been friends ever since."

We continued to talk, not even noticing that people were leaving. It was just me and him. I told him about myself. About my cop father Charlie and my crazy, artistic mother. He looked interested, and a couple of times I could have sworn he wanted to kiss me. We were so close, faces almost touching. My body was curved around his. I wasn't really paying attention to anything anymore. We just sat their together.

We continued to talk, but not about anything important. He liked to look at my face and into my eyes. I guess he could read me better if he looked into my eyes. We weren't really talking about much, so I didn't see what was coming next. If I had been paying attention better I might have predicted it.

We were sitting closer, with me leaning onto his chest, while his arm was around me.

"Bella, look at me", Jasper said. And of course I obliged. Who wouldn't want to look at this man? But our faces were to close now, and he didn't want to talk. I was suddenly aware of the lust in his face and like everything about him, it blew me away. He was so beautiful, I couldn't stand it anymore. Apparently neither could he, because the next thing I knew, his lips were on my lips.

It felt like air. Air that I desperately needed. Kissing Jasper was the best feeling. I couldn't get close enough, yet I was already so close. His lips were moving with mine, softly at first and then more intense. And I wanted to stop to breathe, but I couldn't because I didn't think I could stand to be parted from him.

However, I did need to breathe and so did he. He broke the kiss first. I would've kept going at it if he didn't stop me. Air? Who needs air?

"I think I'm in like with you", I said, immediately blushing at the confession and how true it was. My breathing was ragged and I tried to quickly catch it. He didn't need to know how much he affected to me. I constantly fed his ego anyway.

Jasper chuckled. He also sounded out of breath. That made me happy. Not because he was having trouble breathing. I just liked knowing that I affected him just as much as he affected me.

"I think I'm in like with you, too". And then he kissed me again.

Ahhh...this is heaven.


End file.
